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25 best movie cameos ever

From Alfred Hitchcock to Arnie, these are the best blink-and-you'll-miss-em appearances by famous faces in the flicks

18 November 2011/9:00GMT

The Expendables – Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis (2010)

Arnie put his role as Governor of California on hold for a brief moment for this highly anticipated, albeit brief cameo alongside fellow 80s action movie icons Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis. While hardcore fans found it hard to contain their excitement over Arnold “get to the chopper” Schwarzenegger’s appearance, protestors marred the star-studded premiere, brandishing signs saying things like “State workers are not Expendable,” in light of the redundancies in his bankrupt state of California. Oh dear. The film was a bit of a let-down, too.

Zoolander – David Bowie (2001)

Who better to judge a Walk-off between a pair of male models than the Thin White Duke himself? While there were many A-List cameo appearances, the highlight had to be Bowie swooping in from nowhere, emerging from the crowd to make sure Derek Zoolander and Hansel's battle of faces and underwear removal is one fought clean and fair. Who else would they trust with such an important role? Word on the web is Ben Stiller's male model is primed for a return. Let’s hope Bowie can be persuaded to come back, too.

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Shaun of the Dead – Jessica Hynes (2004)

As Shaun and his gang stumble through alleyways and back streets wielding make-shift weapons while on their way to the Winchester, they bump into Simon Pegg's old Spaced mucker Jessica Hynes (née Stevenson). It turns out her party of better-armed, better-equipped survivors exactly mirrors Shaun's gang – and they're played by a roll-call of British comedy talent from the likes of The League of Gentlemen and Little Britain. Fair to say this in-jokey rom-zom scene was only really be appreciated by British comedy fans, otherwise it was just a case of “who are they?”

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The Hangover – Mike Tyson (2009)

Iron Mike's tiger-loving cameo definitely appeared to be one of the highlights when the trailer was being bandied about. When we got to see the film in its entirety, Tyson proved that some cameos should indeed be muted roles – although punching Zach Galifianakis was particularly brilliant. In his defense, he was probably high on some kind of narcotic after admitting on an ESPN radio show that he only signed up for the film to finance his drug habit! Why they bothered to recast him in part II will forever remain a mystery.

Tropic Thunder – Tom Cruise (2008)

We’re used to seeing Tom Cruise do stupidly crazy things – everyone remember his appearance on the Oprah show? But this was something else again – here's Tom in a bald cap and a fat suit, dancing like a rhythmically challenged old man. Not only did we get to see Cruise like we’ve never seen him before, but his memorable role as vulgar, corpulent studio boss Les Grossman is actually pretty hilarious. So much so that there's talk of a whole film featuring the character. A few minutes in his company was, we feel, more than enough.